NEW YORK CITY: The 61st annual Drama Desk Awards were presented on Sunday night in a ceremony hosted by Michael Urie at Town Hall. The awards, which recognize Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway productions, were given to shows that opened during the 2015-16 season.
Roundabout Theatre‘s The Humans won outstanding play, as well as awards for outstanding lighting design for a play and outstanding sound design for a play. Shuffle Along received awards for outstanding musical, outstanding choreography, outstanding costume design for a musical, and outstanding wig and hair design. Roundabout’s She Loves Me also won four awards: outstanding revival of a musical, outstanding featured actress in a musical, outstanding orchestrations, and outstanding set design.
In addition to the competitive awards, special awards were also given to companies and individuals who have made significant contributions to the theatre community this season. Two acting ensembles received special awards this year: the cast of Stephen Karam’s The Humans (Cassie Beck, Reed Birney, Jayne Houdyshell, Lauren Klein, Arian Moayed, and Sarah Steele) and the cast of Marco Ramirez’s The Royale (McKinley Belcher III, Khris Davis, Montego Glover, John Lavelle, and Clarke Peters).
Lyricist Sheldon Harnick received recognition for Fiddler on the Roof, Rothschild and Sons, and She Loves Me. Camp Broadway received a special award for its role in “creating tomorrow’s audiences.” Playwright Danai Gurira received the Sam Norkin Off-Broadway award for her plays Eclipsed and Familiar.
The Drama Desks are the only awards that have Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway productions competing in the same categories.
A complete list of winners is below.
PLAY
The Humans
MUSICAL
Shuffle Along
REVIVAL OF A PLAY
A View from the Bridge
REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
She Loves Me
ACTOR IN A PLAY
Frank Langella, The Father
ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Jessica Lange, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Danny Burstein, Fiddler on the Roof
ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple
FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
Michael Shannon, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Saycon Sengbloh, Eclipsed
FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Christopher Fitzgerald, Waitress
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me
DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Ivo van Hove, A View from the Bridge
DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
John Doyle, The Color Purple
Bartlett Sher, Fiddler on the Roof
CHOREOGRAPHY
Savion Glover, Shuffle Along
MUSIC
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Bright Star
LYRICS
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Dear Evan Hansen
BOOK OF A MUSICAL
John Caird, Daddy Long Legs
ORCHESTRATIONS
Larry Hochman, She Loves Me
MUSIC IN A PLAY
Philip Glass, The Crucible
SET DESIGN FOR A PLAY
Christopher Oram, Hughie
SET DESIGN FOR A MUSICAL
David Rockwell, She Loves Me
COSTUME DESIGN FOR A PLAY
Anita Yavich, The Legend of Georgia McBride
COSTUME DESIGN FOR A MUSICAL
Ann Roth, Shuffle Along
LIGHTING DESIGN FOR A PLAY
Justin Townsend, The Humans
LIGHTING DESIGN FOR A MUSICAL
Justin Townsend, American Psycho
PROJECTION DESIGN
Finn Ross, American Psycho
SOUND DESIGN FOR A PLAY
Fitz Patton, The Humans
SOUND DESIGN FOR A MUSICAL
Dan Moses Schreier, American Psycho
WIG AND HAIR DESIGN
Mia M. Neal, Shuffle Along
SOLO PERFORMANCE
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Fully Committed
UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE
That Physics Show
SPECIAL AWARDS
Sheldon Harnick
Camp Broadway
Danai Gurira
The ensemble of The Humans: Cassie Beck, Reed Birney, Jayne Houdyshell, Lauren Klein, Arian Moayed, and Sarah Steele.
The ensemble of The Royale: McKinley Belcher III, Khris Davis, Montego Glover, John Lavelle, and Clarke Peters.